Benitez: We've had a great season... now let's make it even better and win the FA Cup

Rafa Benitez heralded Chelsea’s ‘great’ season on Sunday after his side booked a semi-final against Manchester City.

With Chelsea out of the Premier League title race and the Champions League, the win gave fans a reason to smile.

And with the club still in the Europa League, Benitez insisted: ‘It’s a great season. It could be even better. It’s important for everyone here. We worked so hard at Old Trafford (in the first game) and we deserved to win in the end.’

Hope: Rafa Benitez (right) believes Chelsea's 'great' season will get even better

The victory helped justify Benitez’s
decision to field an understrength side in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at
relegation-threatened Southampton.

‘Against a very good United team, we
had one or two chances to settle the game,’ said Benitez. ‘They had one
or two to score, but we deserved it.

‘Before the international break, we
played against United, Steaua Bucharest and West Ham. We were the best
in the world after those games.

‘Then we lost against Southampton on Saturday and we’re the worst in the world. You have to have balance.’

Yesterday’s clash was Chelsea’s second
game in 45 hours. They will have little time to recharge before
Thursday’s Europa League visit of Rubin Kazan.

Chelsea could finish the season having
played 70 games, and Benitez admitted: ‘We had less than 48 hours
between games and don’t have a strong squad.

You cannot kill players by playing them two games in a row in that time.’

Star man? Ferguson claims Antonio Valencia was the only United player who performed at an acceptable standard

Manchester United manager Sir Alex
Ferguson urged his side to bounce back from yesterday’s defeat by
effectively sealing the Barclays Premier League title on Monday against
champions Manchester City.

A win next week would open up an 18-point gap to second-placed City, with just 21 left to play for, and
Ferguson said: ‘We will kick on now. It was disappointing today, of
course, but we have to forget all about it and move on to the next game.

‘We are in a good position obviously and a positive result for us on Monday will just about seal the title.’